Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, on Sunday encouraged members of Colgate University’s Class of 2005 to “wander off the beaten career path and help redefine success in 21st century America.”
Edelman spoke to an audience of almost 700 graduates, their families, and members of the Colgate community at the school’s 184th commencement ceremony.
During her keynote address, titled “The State of America’s Children: A Cry for Justice for Children and the Poor,” Edelman talked about a wide range of social issues, such as infant mortality, poverty, racism, violence, and the federal budget deficit.
She began her speech by commending the Class of 2005 for their commitment to service and civic engagement. “Continue with it, increase it, and engage others,” she said.
She touched on moral issues, described her own childhood, and then provided graduates with eight lessons that she gave her own children:
• Don’t feel entitled to anything you haven’t sweated or struggled for.
• Set thoughtful goals.
• Don’t wait around for someone to direct what you do. Take the initiative yourself.
• Don’t work just for money.
• Don’t be afraid of risk or criticism.
• Take parenting and family life seriously.
• Listen for the genuine in yourself.
• Never think life isn’t worth living.
“If we believe in it, if we have faith in it, if we dream of it, if we struggle for it, and if we refuse to give up,” Edelman concluded, “we can make America a place where truly no child is left behind.”
Prior to Edelman’s address, Colgate President Rebecca S. Chopp charged the university’s graduates to “do what is right -- love the world.”
“Want to, need to, do something to make this world a better place,” she told them. “Do something in the spirit that is Colgate.”
Chopp awarded honorary degrees to Edelman , the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, who gave the morning’s baccalaureate sermon; Colgate alumnus and lifelong Rome, N.Y., resident Emlyn Griffith; and artist Alex Katz.
Edelman
Under Edelman’s leadership, the CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families.
Edelman has received many honorary degrees and awards including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, and a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship. In 2000, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.
Edelman received the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings which include seven books: “Families in Peril: An Agenda for Social Change”; “The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours”; “Guide My Feet: Meditations and Prayers on Loving and Working for Children”; “Stand for Children”; “Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors”; “Hold My Hand: Prayers for Building a Movement to Leave No Child Behind”; and “I’m Your Child, God: Prayers for Our Children.”
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• The university awarded 689 bachelor of arts degrees and one master of arts in teaching.
• Claudia Melniciuc, of Arad, Romania, was class valedictorian. The mathematics and art and art history major earned a GPA of 4.03.
• Sarah J. Sillin, of New Paltz., N.Y., was the class salutatorian. Majoring in English and women's studies, she earned a GPA of 3.97.
• This year's graduates and their families hailed from 40 states across the United States and 17 nations.
• Members of the Class of 2005 already have landed impressive jobs or enrolled in high-profile graduate school programs. Graduates are headed to Merrill Lynch, the CIA, The Miami Herald, Yale University, and Vanderbilt University School of Law.
• Read profiles of nine graduates here.
• Photos from commencement weekend
• Text of President Rebecca S. Chopp's speech
• Text of Marian Wright Edelman's speech
• Watch video of the commencement ceremony
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A graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, Edelman became the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, and was the first woman elected to the Yale University Corp.
She has worked with Martin Luther King Jr., held leadership positions with the NAACP, and was director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University.
Hehir
A theologian well respected for his work in ethics and international relations, Hehir serves as the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the practice of religion and public life at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
He also currently holds positions as the secretary of social services and the president of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Hehir is the former president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, and served on the faculty at Georgetown University and Harvard Divinity School.
Griffith
A member of Colgate's Class of 1942, Griffith was a member of the New York State Board of Regents for 23 years and has dedicated much of his career to public service in the education field.
An attorney, he has served in a number of leadership positions with the state and county bar associations, and has been an advocate for Colgate for many years, particularly in encouraging talented local students to attend his alma mater.
He entered Colgate when he was 15 years old and graduated at age 18, just days before his 19th birthday.
Katz
Katz is regarded as one of the most important and influential American artists of the second half of the 20th century. His flat, graphic style, and large-scale work is recognized to have modernized the tradition of American realism.
Since the late 1950s, portraits have been a key element of Katz’s work — especially portraits of his wife Ada, his son Vincent, and a circle of friends composed of artists, poets, critics, and dancers.
Caroline Jenkins
Office of Public Relations and Communications
315.228.6637
